---
id: "claim-low-adoption-of-b2b-gen-ai"
type: "claim"
source_timestamps: ["§ From Channel Management to Answer Engineering"]
tags: ["adoption-rates", "mckinsey"]
related: ["concept-generative-engine-optimization"]
confidence: "high"
testable: true
external_validation: "broad-claim-supported-figure-unverified"
sources: ["geo"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-geo"
originDay: 3
articleStem: "hbr-tier1-01-gen-ai-b2b-buying"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/how-gen-ai-is-disrupting-b2b-buying-decisions"
sourceTitle: "How Gen AI is Disrupting B2B Buying Decisions"
---
# B2B leaders are slow to adopt Gen AI for go-to-market strategies

Despite the rapid shift in buyer behavior, a **2025 McKinsey B2B Pulse Survey** found that only **19% of respondents are actively implementing** use cases involving generative AI tools for B2B buying and selling. The gap between buyer-side adoption and seller-side readiness is precisely the opening [[concept-generative-engine-optimization-d1]] is meant to close.

**Confidence & external validation:** The *broad* claim ('leaders are slow to adopt Gen AI for GTM') is supported by McKinsey's general AI-adoption research, which shows high awareness/experimentation but limited deployment into core commercial processes, unevenly across industries. The enrichment overlay could **not** find a public McKinsey 'B2B Pulse 2025' release with the **19%** figure specific to Gen-AI use in B2B buying/selling — treat it as an internal survey datapoint. **Counter-nuance:** many enterprises report pilot-level experimentation not classified as 'active implementation,' and tech/software/financial-services move faster than industrial/healthcare — so the picture is 'immature and patchy' rather than uniformly 'slow.'